The James Altucher Show

Dan Lyons is kind of infamous. He was a journalist who loved his job and got fired when he was 52. "I loved what I did," he said. And that's rare. "I loved meeting people, talking to them, interviewing them, trying to figure out what's a good story."   And then it was taken away from him. I feel like 52 would be the worst time to get fired. He moved to San Francisco and got a job at Hubspot, which lead to his book, "Disrupted." He exposes the company. And exposes Silicon Valley.   And then the TV writers for "Silicon Valley" invited him to write for their show. I wanted to know all about it. What's it like on set? How much input did you give? And did they take? And then what happened when you went back to your job at Hubspot?   That's sort of where Dan's story begins. Because as he shares in his book, "Disrupted" they started to push him out. Like high school kids bullying a kid out of their clique.   I wanted to know how he survived. How he coped... And how he got back with his bestselling book. ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"[President Obama] knew who I was, but he knew who a lot of people were," David Litt, a former speechwriter for the president, told me in this podcast. He wrote speeches for the president. Now he writes for "Funny or Die". And before the White House, David wrote for "The Onion". His style is satirical, humorous and self-deprecating. When Obama made you laugh, there's a chance it was really David Litt. So I asked him, "What's the funniest thing you wrote that you were happy the president said?" "Oh man, it doesn't sound that funny when I say it, but, it got at a truth about politics that we probably could have expressed otherwise," he said. The joke was told at the 2013 Correspondents dinner. Obama said, 'I know Republicans are still sorting out what happened in 2012, but one thing they all agree on is they need to do a better job reaching out to minorities. And look, call me self-centered, but I can think of one minority they could start with." Humor helps us tell the truth. And it helps us remember the truth. And sometimes it just gives us a break from the chaos. Like the time Reagan needed surgery after getting shot. He said to the surgeon, "I hope you're a Republican." And everyone remembers that. "You don't have to be the president's right-hand man or woman to contribute to your country," David said. "I mean, you certainly can be and those are important stories, but I wanted to write a book about this other side of public service." So I wondered, could I do it? Could I write for a president? And how did he transition from "The Onion" to the Oval? "In America, your place in history isn't determined for you," David said. It's not determined by where you're born or who your parents are. "You make your own place in history as an American." When Obama first became a senator, a reporter asked him, "What will be your mark in history?" The young Barack Obama laughed and said, "I haven't even sat at my desk yet." Then he repeated this story at a commencement speech in 2005. (I'm paraphrasing.) But he told the students, "You haven't sat at your desk yet... but you still have a choice." I wondered how he did that... how he connected this small part of his personal history to this larger idea of making your mark. "It's called the ladder of meaning," David told me. "I forget who coined the phrase, but at the bottom of the ladder are basic details and at the top of the ladder are big values." "One of my favorite speeches is the speech Martin Luther King delivered the night before he was shot. He talks about surviving an assassination attempt. A deranged woman, stabbed him with a letter opener. It almost got to his heart. Doctors told him that if he sneezed, he would die. This got out in the press and he got a letter from a nine year old, white girl who said, 'I just wanted to let you know I'm glad you didn't sneeze.'" Then Martin Luther King gives his speech about the progress of civil rights. "He prefaces everything with saying, 'I too am glad I didn't sneeze because If I had sneezed I wouldn't have been able to tell you all about a dream that I had.'" "He's connecting this very meaningless moment (a sneeze) with these incredibly important national events." It was beautiful. He used imagery. "I've been to the mountain top." He used passion and love. He used the top of the ladder and the bottom. This episode isn't about politics. It's about how words make history. And with every new word, you can make your own history, too. Thanks for reading! Make sure to check out the show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/david-litt/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts! ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sir Richard Branson. End of notes. Enjoy. Just kidding. The advice from Richard is priceless. He's a self-made billionaire (BILLION!) who windsurfed across the English Channel with his kids, biked from Northern Italy to Southern italy with his whole family (they rode 100 miles a day). He's active everyday. Active in life, active in fatherhood, active in business. "My slogan is 'Screw it, just do it.' Why not just try these things? You may fall flat on your face," he said, "but you'll have fun." That's part of "find your virginity." (The slogan based on his new book "Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography") Then he told me how he applies this to Virgin, the multi-billion dollar empire he started on a whim... "A business is simply coming up with an idea that's going to make people's lives better," he said. That's why he's been in business for over 50 years. "If I hadn't reinvented myself I wouldn't be in business," he said. "And if I see a situation where people's lives are not as good as they could be, we'll jump in. We'll try to improve people's lives." I don't have an easy time saying "screw it." I usually overthink. And second guess myself. I want to change that. So I called Richard. And he told me how to change... he told me how to find my virginity. Make sure to read the full show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/sir-richard-branson/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts! ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I've never been a vampire. But Kellan has. He got his big break in "Twilight." This was an epic. Five movies back to back. It was a supernatural role in this made up fantasy world. And that's where he found his freedom. "With Sci-Fi, you have this freedom to create whatever world, whatever rules, you want. There's nothing tell you what you can and cannot do," he said. "We're playing these vampires that don't breathe, don't eat, so trying to portray human qualities was interesting." But now he's done with that series. He's taking on more challenging characters. And contributing his fame to charities he cares about deeply. He came to New York to support the Geoffrey Beene Foundation. (He's the brand ambassador for them). They had an event in New York, "Frame This Revelation." It's aimed "to uncovers the truth of cancer's ruthless and vicious assault by showcasing the work of artists who are battling this insidious disease - either for themselves or their loved ones." The campaign is raising awareness for new cancer research. And I felt lucky to learn about it directly from Kellan.  "Children and animals just always get my heart beating. And when my good friend, Kim Biddle, created "Save the Innocence" an organization that deals with children being trafficked for sex out in LA..." I had to interject. Because I'm totally naive. ?"How big is this problem? Because on a day to day basis, you hear the words "sex trafficking," but you never see it." He told me about the problem. He told me how it's all around us in everyday life. And how we miss the signs. Because we're not educated. "When you're educated, you see it first hand," he said. He told me how hard it is for girls to escape. And why they get trapped repeatedly. And he told me the solution to... building a case, getting law enforcement involved... "A lot of times, women don't feel worthy... we have to give them hope," he said. And so I listened and I learned how we can give hope.   You can learn more about the Geoffrey Been Foundation at www.geoffreybeene.com You can read my show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/kellan-lutz/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts! ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

He thought he was going to be one of the lucky ones. "I knew statistically... and intellectually that every once in awhile an artist has a hit song. And they're lucky... they're even luckier if they get two. I felt like, I was different. My first song was a hit," he said. "So I thought all all of mine will be hits..." But he was wrong. "Each song I put out after that was progressively less and less popular. And I became progressively less and less popular, until I was left alone in a million dollar house in LA with an empty schedule and nothing to do," Mike told me. He felt pathetic. And need to escape. He realized fame wasn't the "magic bullet." So he set out to find it. And his comeback story began... This podcast is that story. Make sure to read the full show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/mike-posner/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts! ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Playboy wasn't part of the plan. "It wasn't on my list of things to do in life," Amanda said. "What did you want to do?" I said. "Acting." But everyone told her "no." They told her "You're branded as a playmate, so that's what you are." She could've given up. She didn't. "One person says "no," then another person says "no"... but eventually, there's that one person who believes in you and that can be yourself." In this interview, Amanda tells me her secrets to becoming a social media influencer and the actor she's always wanted to be. She taught me how you can choose yourself.  You can read my show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/amanda-cerny/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts!  ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The FBI went to his high school when the 15-year-old Mr. X hacked into the largest Internet company in the world and stole 90 million credit card numbers.  "You are going to jail for a long time," they told him.  The day after he stole them he sent them back to the company and explained what their cybersecurity flaws were.  He thought they would thank him.  The FBI came to arrest him. "I was scared to death," he told me when we first met.  The head of the school, a three-star general, told them, "You guys better get out of here if you aren't writing this boy a check and saying thank you."  They left.  Then.  Two years later when Mr. X graduated he got "the call". The call that meant he wouldn't go to college.  The call that meant he would parachute into enemy fire, hack foreign governments, hack our own computers. "I've done so many things," he once told me. "You can't imagine."  The call from a three initial agency. More than one.  We met at a dinner. We were both obsessed with hacking and the latest flaws in computer security. We ignored every else and spoke for three hours.  And we haven't stopped talking since.  I don't mean this to be a conspiracy theory. There's already been rumors about "fake news", election hacking, etc.  There are bot armies. There are hackers taking down electric grids every day. Every company in the Fortune 500 is completely hacked. Your computer is hacked.  I've spent many years talking to people in the security space.  The reality is: the war is on.  And it's being fought with data. And it's being fought all over the world. And it's being fought every day.  Not just on election systems. Or at big companies. But on your computer. And the war is not always being fought by the people you expect. The enemies we were always trained to believe.  Mr. X spent time in special forces. Was in every overseas battle. Has been involved in more news stories than he likes to admit.  He's also built and sold two companies using his hacking abilities. He lives a good life now and doesn't want his voice e or identity to be revealed. So we distorted it for the podcast.  I asked him, "Do you still work for 'them' ".  He turned away and said, "You never stop working for them."  The goal of this isn't to scare people. Information is power.  And this is some of what I've learned from Mr. X.  1. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A VOICE, YOU HAVE TO SPEAK "In the past, to go up against an institution, you need to be an institution." Mr. X said. "Now more than ever, we need to stand up for what we believe in. We have these powerful, engaging tools to influence others, but we still leave it up to the powers that control us to influence us. If you believe something, share it. In other words, don't let the media "program" what you believe in. Don't let the online word "hack" into your brain. They already know more about you than you know about yourself. And they use that knowledge against you 24 hours a day.  If you want to have a voice, YOU HAVE TO SPEAK. 2. POLICE YOURSELF We were talking about computer security. He told me all the ways you could be hacked... that you would never think of.  "Let me ask yo, when's the last time you updated your firmware on your router?"  I had no idea. "If I'm going in, I'm going through the router," he said. "The majority of the fortune 500 use the same router... So you either trust the government to police data OR you need to be that person." And that was just one weakness. Next time you are on your phone check out how many apps on your phone have permission to turn on your video camera and start recording and transmitting what they record without you being aware.  Don't think they aren't doing it.  3. HOW DID OSAMA BIN LADEN REALLY DIE? Was Osama Bin Laden really casually sleeping on the third floor of a building with no access out? Or was he a prisoner and we had lost... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Everyone has their own talent," Erika said. "And my talent is expressing through writing songs and from singing them." She wrote "Despacito" - the fastest song to hit 3 billion downloads in the history of music. Now it's past 4 billion. That's half the planet.  I asked how she did it. "Let's say I want to write a song that gets 4 billion views," I said. "What should my first few steps be?" "You know what..." she said. "I don't think about the numbers. I think the main thing is for you to connect with the world." She has a beautiful way of thinking. And it bleeds into her art. Often, my mind is full of fears and it clouds my creativity. So I asked if she's afraid of losing. Or not topping herself. What if "Despacito" was it? Her peak?  "Everyone asks me that," she said. "People are always asking, 'Do you feel pressure? What are you going to do next?' And I say, "You know what... this is such a gift. I'm not putting any pressure on myself because I think doing that is seeing life from the ego eyes. I'm not thinking I'm going to top this. I'm just going to keep doing quality work. I'm trying to evolve." That's the key to having an "abundance mentality." And the key to pursuing your talent. Make sure to read the full show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/erika-ender/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts! ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Comedy is brutal. If the audience doesn't know you, they WILL judge you. That's true for most things (you can't walk down the sidewalk in New York City without being judged at least a hundred times). Bonnie said you have to know your audience. I wondered "how though?" I gave an example, "Okay so do you try to figure out how old the audience is, what gender they are, sexual orientation, race, how much they drank or didn't drink, etc.?" "No, I usually just think, 'Okay, blue collar, I'll do my marriage stuff." It was that easy. That's professionalism. That's professional judgement. That's comedy. And the path to likability. Bonnie has a joke about using the GPS. "In Brooklyn I'm not going to do driving material. I have a really funny GPS joke that I can't do in the city because nobody drives. "I'm so immature about it," she said. She makes fun of the audience... They didn't ALWAYS live in the city. "Sometimes it irritates me. I'm like I know you understand what GPS is, if you saw this in a movie you'd get it, so don't just sit there like 'oh not my experience'." I learned you can lose likability as quickly as you gain it, though. And that scared me. But Bonnie doesn't care. "I like when the audience is scared for you. If they don't laugh at something I think is funny, I lash out. Sometimes we start in a love fest, then I insult them and them maybe we still end in a love fest." Her process is her art. She has hundred of jokes. "The premises just come," she said. She takes from life. The premises are there all the time," she said. "I just write whatever happens to be in front of me." Right now she's working on a joke: "what if your therapist was a Syrian refugee?" I think I did more laughing than questioning in this interview. I hope you do too.   You can read my show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/bonnie-mcfarlane/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts! ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AJ's about to launch a TV show. A few months ago he started a podcast. He's 49 years old. And it all started because he decided to write a book on a weird idea he had. "I wonder what it would be like to live the Bible." It's especially weird if you consider the fact that he's Jewish. AJ is a living example that anyone at age 49 could've decided to do this idea. Anyone at ANY age could've done this idea. He told me to be curious about everything. "Even things you're not curious about." That didn't make sense to me. How do you do that?  "Read books you don't think are interesting," he said. Explore new podcasts, watch old movies. Then observe yourself. One of the original Saturday Night Live writers, Alan Zweibel, said you need to have two heads. "The head that's having an experience and the head that's observing." That's how you find your next big idea or small step forward in your life. You peel back the layers crusted on top of yourself. You dig into fresh layers and discover something new. AJ calls is "Fun-comfortable" (it's the intersection between discomfort and curiosity).  This episode teaches you how to find that intersection.  Thanks for reading! Make sure to check out the show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/aj-jacobs-3/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts! ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.